Issue 495

19^th February 2021

Written by Dave Verwer

Comment

In my comment last week, I said:

I don’t want someone else being able to judge the value of what I produce, that’s the market’s job. Apple doesn’t want to go there either, even in regular times but especially not with potential anti-trust issues looming.

Rarely is anyone this wrong this quickly. 😂 It appears that Apple is starting to reject apps based on pricing concerns. As I mentioned last week, this is easy to do in extreme cases but can lead down a slippery slope.

Of course, this screenshot is an isolated case, and like many things related to App Review, it could be an anomaly or an over-zealous reviewer. I’ll be watching closely for more reports of this type of rejection, though.

UPDATE: Thanks to David Barnard for pointing me at that fact that this isn’t a new rejection, so this is not a change in policy, it looks like it’s been happening for a while.

Dave Verwer

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News

Sad news this week that the Swift/Tensorflow project is shutting down. While this project was significant and its archival is a loss, in my opinion, it’s not the end of the world. I know the plan was “world domination”, but if something tries to be all things to all people, can it be the best at anything? As an iOS and macOS developer, I’m not sure that this will have any negative impact and may even potentially turn out to be positive.

It’s important to note here that I’m not trying to say that this work wasn’t valuable, and I’m certainly not trying to devalue any person’s contributions. I extend my thanks to everyone who worked on Swift for TensorFlow, just like I do for the Swift open-source project, the Swift Package Manager projects, the internal teams at Apple, and anyone else who moves things forward.

Josh Holtz with a great post that you should read if you’re using fastlane at all, but especially if you’re using fastlane in a CI environment! The two-factor/two-step changes that Apple will start to enforce this month are the right thing to do but will impact your CI.

Tools

Dash remains an essential part of my day-to-day toolkit, and not only for Swift development! This new version comes with experimental support for full-text search, which is a great step forward. There’s a trial available, but if you’re anything like me, this will be an insta-upgrade.

Code

I recently came across precisely the issue that Joe Heck discusses in this post, and if you’ve used SwiftUI, you’ll likely have hit the same problem with nested observable objects not updating. He goes through what might seem like a sensible approach to fixing it but ends with sound advice about keeping things simple.

This post from RY Zheng is a fascinating look behind the scenes of the run loop. If you’ve always wondered, “Oh, I’ve heard of a run loop” but never dug any deeper, this will give you what you need. However, even if you’re a world expert on the subject, you’ll probably learn something!

I enjoyed this article from Leonardo Maia Pugliese. Did you know there were seven ways to make a dictionary in Swift?

I remember really struggling with session configuration the first few times I had to do it. I wish this great guide from Keith Harrison had existed then, but at least it exists now! 🎉

Videos

When I saw Paul Hudson posting short Xcode videos on Twitter a while ago, I hoped he’d put them all together into a single video, and here it is! The one that blew my mind when I first learned it is pressing delete in the search results list. 🤯 I use that all the time. There are 23 other great tips in this video, though!

Jobs

iOS Engineer @ WillowTree – As an iOS Software Engineer at WillowTree, you’ll influence project outcomes and collaborate with teammates to build amazing products people love. In response to the pandemic, our team members have the option to work remotely. Once it is safe to return, this role will be based in our Columbus, OH office. Non-local candidates are encouraged to apply as we provide relocation assistance. – Columbus OH

Senior iOS Engineer @ WillowTree – As a Senior iOS Engineer at WillowTree, you’ll have the opportunity to impact teammates throughout various stages of their careers. In response to the pandemic, our team members have the option to work remotely. Once it is safe to return, this role will be based in our Durham, NC office. Non-local candidates are encouraged to apply as we provide relocation assistance. – Durham NC

Senior iOS Engineer @ Doximity and iOS Developer @ Doximity – Doximity, the medical network used by over 70% of US clinicians, is hiring passionate iOS engineers (remote-friendly!). You’ll get to be part of an amazing product team and work on an app that is constantly evolving. Use your skills (Swift, MVVM, FRP) to be an integral part of our newly launched telemedicine feature. Apply today! – Remote within the US

Are you hiring? Get your open iOS development positions listed right here by posting a Featured Listing over at iOS Dev Jobs.

And finally...

It doesn’t matter how good it gets, habits are hard to break. 😂